Brotherhood of the Wolf
Encyclopedia
Brotherhood of the Wolf is a 2001 French film directed by Christophe Gans
Christophe Gans
Christophe Gans is a French film director, writer, and producer who specializes in horror, fantasy movies and video game adaptations.-Biography:...

, starring Samuel Le Bihan
Samuel Le Bihan
Samuel Le Bihan is a French actor, notable for his role in Brotherhood of the Wolf.-Cinema:* 1993: Promenades d'été, directed by René Féret* 1993: La place d'un autre, directed by René Féret...

 and Mark Dacascos
Mark Dacascos
Mark Alan Dacascos is an American actor and martial artist. He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18....

, and written
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...

 by Gans and Stéphane Cabel. Its original title is which literally means "the pact of the wolves."

The film is loosely based on the book L'Innocence des loups ("The Innocence of the Wolves"), by the French zoologist Michel Louis, a study about a real-life series of killings that took place in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in the 18th century and the famous legend around the Beast of Gévaudan
Beast of Gévaudan
The Beast of Gévaudan is a name given to man-eating wolf-like animals alleged to have terrorized the former province of Gévaudan , in the Margeride Mountains in south-central France from 1764 to 1767 over an area stretching . The beasts were consistently described by eyewitnesses as having...

. Parts of the film were shot at Château de Roquetaillade
Château de Roquetaillade
The Château de Roquetaillade is a castle in Mazères , in the French département of Gironde.Charlemagne, on his way to the Pyrenees with Roland, built the first fortification there...

. Despite being a historical drama film, it has anachronistic martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

 fight sequences; it also contains elements of erotica
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...

, mystery
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...

, horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...

, politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

, romance
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...

, and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

.

This $29 million-budgeted film was an international box office success, grossing over $70 million in worldwide theatrical release. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the film also enjoyed commercial success; Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...

 paid $2 million to acquire the film's United States distribution rights and this film went on grossing $11,260,096 in limited theatrical release in the United States, making it the second-highest-grossing French-language film in the United States in the last two decades (this film also did brisk video and DVD sales in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

).

Plot

The film begins during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

 with the aged Marquis d'Apcher (Jacques Perrin
Jacques Perrin
Jacques Perrin is a French actor and filmmaker. He is occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Simonet was his father's name and Perrin his mother's.-Life and career:...

) as the narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...

, writing his memoirs in a castle, while the voices of a mob can be heard from outside. The film flashes back
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...

 to the mid 1760s when a mysterious beast
Beast of Gévaudan
The Beast of Gévaudan is a name given to man-eating wolf-like animals alleged to have terrorized the former province of Gévaudan , in the Margeride Mountains in south-central France from 1764 to 1767 over an area stretching . The beasts were consistently described by eyewitnesses as having...

 terrorized the province of Gévaudan
Gévaudan
Gévaudan is a historical area of France, nowadays situated in Lozère département. It took its name from the Gabali, a Gallic tribe subordinate to the Arverni.- History :...

 and nearby lands.

Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan
Samuel Le Bihan
Samuel Le Bihan is a French actor, notable for his role in Brotherhood of the Wolf.-Cinema:* 1993: Promenades d'été, directed by René Féret* 1993: La place d'un autre, directed by René Féret...

), a knight and the royal taxidermist
Taxidermy
Taxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...

 of King Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...

, and his Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...

 companion Mani (Mark Dacascos
Mark Dacascos
Mark Alan Dacascos is an American actor and martial artist. He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18....

), arrive in Gévaudan to capture the beast. Upon arrival, they rescue Jean Chastel
Jean Chastel
Jean Chastel was a local farmer and inn-keeper, noted for killing the Beast of Gévaudan on June 19, 1767 at Mont Mouchet. According to tradition and several subsequent novels, he positioned himself on a prime spot to get first bids on the beast and opened the Bible...

, an aged healer (Philippe Nahon
Philippe Nahon
-Biography:Nahon is best known for his roles in French horror and thriller films, including I Stand Alone, Humains, Calvaire, Irréversible, The Pack and Haute Tension, and he has been featured as a nameless butcher in three films by Gaspar Noé – Carne, I Stand Alone, and Irréversible .-Filmography...

), and his daughter (Virginie Darmon) from an attack by soldiers. The young and enlightened Thomas, Marquis d'Apcher (Jérémie Renier
Jérémie Renier
Jérémie Renier is a Belgian actor. He lives in Paris, France. His film debut was in the critically praised La Promesse , directed by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne. He became better known to worldwide audiences in Brotherhood of the Wolf and L'Enfant...

), befriends them and assists their investigation.

Fronsac is initially skeptical about the beast's existence, since survivors describe it as much larger than any wolf he has ever seen. However, by studying the bite size on a victim of the beast, he deduces that it must weigh roughly 500 lb (227 kg). Captain Duhamel (Eric Prat), an army officer leading the hunt for the beast, has killed dozens of ordinary wolves, but has not come close to the actual killer.

While staying in Gévaudan, Fronsac romances Marianne de Morangias (Émilie Dequenne
Émilie Dequenne
Émilie Dequenne is a French-speaking Belgian actress.-Biography:She won the Best Actress award at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival for her debut film performance in the Palme d'Or-winning film Rosetta...

), the daughter of a local count, whose brother, Jean-François (Vincent Cassel
Vincent Cassel
Vincent Cassel is a Cesar award winning French actor probably best known to English-speaking audiences through his performances in the Ocean's Trilogy of films and Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan.-Personal life:...

), was also an avid hunter and a world traveler, before losing one arm to a lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

 in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. Fronsac is also intrigued by Sylvia (Monica Bellucci
Monica Bellucci
Monica Anna Maria Bellucci is an Italian actress and fashion model.-Early life:Bellucci was born in Città di Castello, Umbria, Italy as the only child of Luigi Bellucci, who was born in the British protectorate of Zanzibar, East Pakistan...

), an Italian courtesan at the local brothel.

While investigating another victim, Fronsac finds a fang made of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

, and his doubts of the Beast's existence thicken. Another witness swears that the Beast is controlled by a human master. Fronsac studies the patterns of the attacks and victims, trying to find a common thread and reveal a murderer. As the investigation proves to be unfruitful, the king's weapons master, Lord de Beauterne
Antoine de Beauterne
M. François Antoine, Officer of the Royal Bedchamber, Knight Equerry of the Royal Military Order of Saint Louis, served as Gun-Bearer to the King and Lieutenant of the Hunt under Louis XV of France, and is most notable as having pursued and slain the Beast of Gévaudan, its mate, and its whelps...

 (Johan Leysen), arrives to put an end to the Beast. But instead of doing so, Beauterne kills an ordinary wolf and tells Fronsac to alter the corpse so it resembles the monster accordingly. Fronsac hesitantly does so, and the bogus wolf is sent back to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, where it is put on display, much to the pleasure of the king and the French aristocracy.
In Paris, the king's advisor shows Fronsac a copy of a book titled L'Édifiante ["The Edifying"] with treasonous theories, stating the Beast has come to punish the King of France for his indulgence of the philosophers, and that the modern embrace of science over religion is heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...

. Fronsac realizes that the Beast is an instrument of a secret society, The Brotherhood of the Wolf, working to undermine public confidence in the king and ultimately take over the country.

Fronsac is told that "officially" the Beast is dead, warned to keep his mouth shut, and bribed with an appointment to travel to Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

. Back in Gévaudan, the attacks by the real Beast continue.

Ignoring his orders, Fronsac returns to Gévaudan, determined to put an end to the Beast's killings, and also to take Marianne away. Upon his return, the Beast attacks and he sees it with his own eyes. It kills a man, but mysteriously refrains from attacking Marianne.

Fronsac, Mani, and the Marquis set out into the forest and set up an array of traps to capture the Beast, but it proves to be too powerful and intelligent to be captured by anything they can set up. After a violent encounter, Mani sets off solo in pursuit, where he finds a catacomb used as the Beast's holding pen, inhabited by the Brotherhood and a band of Gypsies working with them. These include, ironically, Chastel, the Beast's tender, and his daughter, whom Mani saved. Outnumbered and distracted by the daughter, Mani is shot in the back, overwhelmed and killed, but not before slaughtering a good number of his attackers.

Fronsac is broken when he discovers his best friend has been murdered. Performing an autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...

, he finds a silver bullet
Silver bullet
In folklore, the silver bullet is supposed to be the only kind of bullet for firearms that is effective against a werewolf, witch, or other monsters...

, Jean-François's signature weapon. In a fit of rage he goes to the catacombs and seeks revenge, finding a pile of copies of L'Édifiante. He kills many of the Gypsies and discovers the Beast's lair before leaving so that he can burn Mani's body at dawn. After collecting Mani's ashes, he is then overpowered by the local authorities and imprisoned.

Sylvia visits him in jail and reveals to him that she is a spy for the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

. The local priest, Henri Sardis (Jean-François Stévenin
Jean-François Stévenin
Jean-François Stévenin is a French actor. He has appeared in 150 films and television shows since 1968. He starred in the film Cold Moon, which was entered into the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* Out 1...

), is the leader of the Brotherhood, believing that he is restoring worship of God to France. Pope Clement XIII
Pope Clement XIII
Pope Clement XIII , born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was Pope from 16 July 1758 to 2 February 1769....

 has decided that Sardis is insane, and sent her to eliminate him. She then poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....

s Fronsac, telling him he knows too much.

Fronsac is presumed dead, and buried, when in fact Sylvia's poison has only put him into a temporary coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...

. Henri Sardis wants to kill Marianne, and he persuades Jean-François to do so (as a way to combat his incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...

uous lust for his sister). Jean-François comes to Marianne's room and reveals to her that he is the Beast's master; it recognized his scent when it came near her, which is why it did not attack. He also reveals that his right arm is in fact intact, albeit badly scarred, and he has kept it hidden for no apparent reason other than to fool the audience (his arm is seen stroking the Beast earlier in the film). Jean-François then rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

s and nearly kills Marianne.

Sylvia's agents exhume Fronsac and he appears at one of the Brotherhood's secret sermon
Sermon
A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...

s. In the climactic battle, he kills several Gypsies and duels Jean-François to the death. The other members of the Brotherhood attempt to flee, but they are corralled and arrested by Captain Duhamel and his men. Sylvia personally kills the Chastel's daughter. Sardis escapes into the mountains, but is mauled to death by a pack of wolves (their leader being the same wolf that survived the previous slaughter, was seen chasing the Beast with its pack and seemingly bonded at a spiritual level with Mani), in an example of poetic justice
Poetic justice
Poetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished, often in modern literature by an ironic twist of fate intimately related to the character's own conduct.- Origin of the term :...

.

Fronsac attempts to heal Marianne with a potion carried by Mani. He and the marquis Thomas go to the Beast's lair, where being tended to by the veterinarian, it lies grievously wounded after the fight in the forest. It turns out the Beast was an offspring of a "strange beast" that Jean-François brought back from Africa (which director Christophe Gans
Christophe Gans
Christophe Gans is a French film director, writer, and producer who specializes in horror, fantasy movies and video game adaptations.-Biography:...

 insists is a lion). It was tortured into becoming vicious, trained to attack humans, and dressed in metal armor plating and spikes along with a large mask and metal implants in its jaw to make it more formidable and frightening. Fronsac takes pity on the dying creature and kills the Beast in an act of mercy.

The film then returns to the opening time period of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

. The now-elderly Marquis d'Apcher finishes writing his account of the killings, just before he is led to his execution by a revolutionary mob.

In the final scene, the Marquis has a flashback, in which he narrates that he does not know what happened to Fronsac and Marianne but he hopes that somewhere, they are happy together. Fronsac is shown traveling to Senegal with Marianne to start a new life together, scattering Mani's ashes at sea. It is left unstated whether the two are alive and happy or whether this is indeed the Marquis' dream.

Cast

  • Samuel Le Bihan
    Samuel Le Bihan
    Samuel Le Bihan is a French actor, notable for his role in Brotherhood of the Wolf.-Cinema:* 1993: Promenades d'été, directed by René Féret* 1993: La place d'un autre, directed by René Féret...

     as Grégoire de Fronsac
  • Mark Dacascos
    Mark Dacascos
    Mark Alan Dacascos is an American actor and martial artist. He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18....

     as Mani
  • Vincent Cassel
    Vincent Cassel
    Vincent Cassel is a Cesar award winning French actor probably best known to English-speaking audiences through his performances in the Ocean's Trilogy of films and Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan.-Personal life:...

     as Jean-François de Morangias
  • Monica Bellucci
    Monica Bellucci
    Monica Anna Maria Bellucci is an Italian actress and fashion model.-Early life:Bellucci was born in Città di Castello, Umbria, Italy as the only child of Luigi Bellucci, who was born in the British protectorate of Zanzibar, East Pakistan...

     as Sylvia
  • Émilie Dequenne
    Émilie Dequenne
    Émilie Dequenne is a French-speaking Belgian actress.-Biography:She won the Best Actress award at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival for her debut film performance in the Palme d'Or-winning film Rosetta...

     as Marianne de Morangias
  • Jérémie Renier
    Jérémie Renier
    Jérémie Renier is a Belgian actor. He lives in Paris, France. His film debut was in the critically praised La Promesse , directed by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne. He became better known to worldwide audiences in Brotherhood of the Wolf and L'Enfant...

     as Thomas d'Apcher
  • Jean Yanne
    Jean Yanne
    Jean Yanne is the artist name of Jean Gouyé, born the 18 July 1933 in Les Lilas who died the 23 May 2003 in Morsains...

     as Comte
    Comte
    Comte is a title of Catalan, Occitan and French nobility. In the English language, the title is equivalent to count, a rank in several European nobilities. The corresponding rank in England is earl...

     de Morangias
  • Jean-François Stevenin
    Jean-François Stévenin
    Jean-François Stévenin is a French actor. He has appeared in 150 films and television shows since 1968. He starred in the film Cold Moon, which was entered into the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* Out 1...

     as Henri Sardis
  • Jacques Perrin
    Jacques Perrin
    Jacques Perrin is a French actor and filmmaker. He is occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Simonet was his father's name and Perrin his mother's.-Life and career:...

     as Thomas, Marquis
    Marquis
    Marquis is a French and Scottish title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...

     d'Apcher (old)
  • Édith Scob
    Édith Scob
    Edith Scob is a French actress, best known for her role as the daughter with a disfigured face in Eyes Without a Face.Edith Scob has had several roles in European film and television and is married to Georges Aperghis....

     as Geneviève de Morangias
  • Johan Leysen as Antoine de Beauterne
    Antoine de Beauterne
    M. François Antoine, Officer of the Royal Bedchamber, Knight Equerry of the Royal Military Order of Saint Louis, served as Gun-Bearer to the King and Lieutenant of the Hunt under Louis XV of France, and is most notable as having pursued and slain the Beast of Gévaudan, its mate, and its whelps...

  • Bernard Farcy as Pièrre-Jean Laffont
  • Hans Meyer
    Hans Meyer
    Hans Meyer may refer to:*Hans Meyer , a South African actor, see Red Sonja *Hans Meyer , German geologist*Hans Meyer , German football manager and former player...

     as Marquis d'Apcher
  • Virginie Darmon as La Bavarde
  • Philippe Nahon
    Philippe Nahon
    -Biography:Nahon is best known for his roles in French horror and thriller films, including I Stand Alone, Humains, Calvaire, Irréversible, The Pack and Haute Tension, and he has been featured as a nameless butcher in three films by Gaspar Noé – Carne, I Stand Alone, and Irréversible .-Filmography...

     as Jean Chastel
    Jean Chastel
    Jean Chastel was a local farmer and inn-keeper, noted for killing the Beast of Gévaudan on June 19, 1767 at Mont Mouchet. According to tradition and several subsequent novels, he positioned himself on a prime spot to get first bids on the beast and opened the Bible...

  • Eric Prat as Capitaine Duhamel
  • Jean-Loup Wolff as Duc Gontrand de Moncan
  • Gaspard Ulliel
    Gaspard Ulliel
    Gaspard Ulliel is a French film actor and model. He began appearing in made-for-television films during the late 1990s and early 2000s, and then began to be known as a film actor in France, as well as starring in the title role in the thriller Hannibal Rising.-Life and career:Ulliel was born in...

     as Louis
  • Dee Bradley Baker
    Dee Bradley Baker
    Dee Bradley Baker is an American voice actor. He is noted as his long-running-role as Klaus Heissler in American Dad! and other various characters including Squilliam Fancyson in the hit TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, Nightcrawler in X-Men: Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance...

     as Beast vocal effects

Director's cut DVD

In the United States, Focus Features
Focus Features
Focus Features is the art house films division of NBC Universal's Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distributor for foreign films....

 released a two-disc director's cut
Director's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...

 DVD of Brotherhood of the Wolf on 26 August 2008. Beside having a longer cut of the film, the DVD also has several extra features: deleted scenes, theatrical trailer, two behind the scenes documentaries (The Guts of the Beast and Documentary), Legend documentary (a documentary that reveals the historical facts about the Beast of Gévaudan
Beast of Gévaudan
The Beast of Gévaudan is a name given to man-eating wolf-like animals alleged to have terrorized the former province of Gévaudan , in the Margeride Mountains in south-central France from 1764 to 1767 over an area stretching . The beasts were consistently described by eyewitnesses as having...

), and Storyboards gallery.

Critical reception

Brotherhood of The Wolf garnered mostly positive reviews, with a 72% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

, based on 113 reviews. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...

 of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...

wrote that this film is "entertaining". Michael Atkinson
Michael Atkinson
Michael John Atkinson , an Australian politician, was the South Australian Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Veterans' Affairs, and Minister for Multicultural Affairs in the Rann Labor Government. A day after the 2010 election, he stepped down as Attorney-General and resigned...

 of Village Voice wrote "It's easily the most disarming and inventive movie made for genre geeks in years." Harry Knowles
Harry Knowles
Harry Knowles is known for his website called Ain't It Cool News. Knowles is a member of the Austin Film Critics Association.-Biography:...

 of Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...

 wrote that this film is "exciting, alluring and thrilling".

Won

  • 2002 César Awards: Best Costume Design (Dominique Borg)
  • Sitges Film Festival: Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver (Christophe Gans
    Christophe Gans
    Christophe Gans is a French film director, writer, and producer who specializes in horror, fantasy movies and video game adaptations.-Biography:...

    )
  • Cabourg Romantic Film Festival: Best New Actress (Émilie Dequenne
    Émilie Dequenne
    Émilie Dequenne is a French-speaking Belgian actress.-Biography:She won the Best Actress award at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival for her debut film performance in the Palme d'Or-winning film Rosetta...

    )
  • 2003 Home Entertainment Awards (held by Video Software Dealers Association): Foreign Language Title of the Year (Universal Studios Home Entertainment
    Universal Studios Home Entertainment
    Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the home video division of Universal Pictures...

    )

Nominations

  • 2002 César Awards: Best Music Written for a Film (Joseph LoDuca
    Joseph LoDuca
    Joseph LoDuca is an American television and film score composer best known for his work writing television scores for the series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Leverage, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, The Librarian Telefilm series, American Gothic and Jack of All Trades...

    ), Best Production Design (Guy-Claude François), Best Sound (Cyril Holtz and Jean-Paul Mugel).
  • European Film Awards: Best Director (Audience Award)-(Christophe Gans
    Christophe Gans
    Christophe Gans is a French film director, writer, and producer who specializes in horror, fantasy movies and video game adaptations.-Biography:...

    )
  • 2002 Saturn Award
    Saturn Award
    The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...

    : Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film, Best Costume (Dominique Borg), Best Director (Christophe Gans
    Christophe Gans
    Christophe Gans is a French film director, writer, and producer who specializes in horror, fantasy movies and video game adaptations.-Biography:...

    ), Best Music (Joseph LoDuca
    Joseph LoDuca
    Joseph LoDuca is an American television and film score composer best known for his work writing television scores for the series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Leverage, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, The Librarian Telefilm series, American Gothic and Jack of All Trades...

    ), Best Special Effects (Arthur Windus, Val Wardlaw, Hal Bertram, Nick Drew and Seb Caudron), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Dacascos
    Mark Dacascos
    Mark Alan Dacascos is an American actor and martial artist. He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18....

    ), Best Supporting Actress (Monica Bellucci
    Monica Bellucci
    Monica Anna Maria Bellucci is an Italian actress and fashion model.-Early life:Bellucci was born in Città di Castello, Umbria, Italy as the only child of Luigi Bellucci, who was born in the British protectorate of Zanzibar, East Pakistan...

    ), Best Writing (Stéphane Cabel and Christophe Gans
    Christophe Gans
    Christophe Gans is a French film director, writer, and producer who specializes in horror, fantasy movies and video game adaptations.-Biography:...

    ).
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